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Character Analysis - Moley the Anti-hero
Character Analysis - "Moley" These are exceprts from the recently released 'Chessboxing Historia'. Still being translated, the book covers in depth guides to all the various products of the chessboxing franchise. The most important aspect is that this book also contains a lot of Joseph Kuo's comments on various parts of the movies, as well as it's characters. *''"Regarding Moley, he was originally set to be the protagonist. The boy who's teacher is murdered. Towards the end, we created a new protagonist as he became more of an anti-hero, but was always the true main character. He was always consistent, he never wavered or changed his mind unlike Lee, this is what made him more of a genuine person, he had the qualities of a man. Lee was created to be the eyes of the viewer into the story of the characters, his weak and changing personality made a good contrast to test the senior student and show his morale. Right up until the end, Moley never got a name, because he is you and me. He is a force, not a person."'' This was the first great insight into Moley's character. We will also be looking in depth into Ah Pao's lack of heroism in comparison to Moley, explaining in great detail why Moley was considered to be the true main character. SCENE 1 - The Chess Stall. *''"This was the first real interaction between Ah Pao and 'Moley', we had to set up the contrast. Someone who represented justice and authority, versus a neutral chaos. It was the immovable object versus the unstoppable force."'' Moley is engaged in a game against the Chess King. This is no simple game, as Moley is biting his nails, deep in thought as to what his next move is going to be. *''"We immeditately wanted people to see this, and later notice how Ah Pao plays Chess against master Chi later on in the film. Someone who thinks carefully, versus one who is careless, and is punished for being such a person"'' *''"Master Chi gives Ah Pao a speech about how to truly master Chess, this was a turning point in the film. Although we didn't get to show it, he also gave Moley the same speech, which he took to heart, Moley always kept his heart open and played Chess just as he was taught. We had to exress this contrast in different ways later on in the film, and in later films, but for now, it was good to see the contrast between the way the two played"'' Compare Moley's careful thinking with every move, to Ah Pao, whom had just been given the Chess speech by Chi Tzu Tien, and then chose to act hastily and foolishly in response to that. A key part of the movie that many fans missed. Enter Ah Pao Ah Pao enters the scene for the first time by giving Moley a move suggestion. He even guarantees that the move is going to bring him victory. Moley is open hearted, and quick to trust Ah Pao's judgement. After all, someone who sounds so sure and confident can't be lying. Moley trusts his new friend and makes the move. *''"Moley was always about trust and the gathering of others. Just as the Cheng Hsing students trusted him, he trusted them. This carries on into Next Level, Moley brings friends together to solve Ah Pao's problem, so you see it's a constant theme. Even when his master was killed, Moley tried his best to understand the ways of Wan Chung San. He held no grudge towards those who had true intentions."'' So we see that Moley falls for Ah Pao's trick. This is also our first insight into Ah Pao's blatant lack of respect for the goings on between others. Ah Pao went out of his way to ruin Moley's game, despite the fact that Ah Pao would gain nothing from it. Whilst some people may put this down to Ah Pao making an innocent mistake, what you must consider is that Ah Pao has never played chess before, as Chi Tzu Tien must teach him from scratch. Also, the focus of this part is on Moley, who took the risk and trusted Ah Pao, without even knowing if Ah Pao had any knowledge of Chess prior to this day. Whether Ah Pao's intentions were pure or not, Moley is a man of trust, and so he makes the move. Naturally, he fails, and the game is ruined. The first Tension Immediately, we begin to see the tension between the two characters. *''"What we tried to emphasise here was Moley's pride and respect towards the Chess King. This was a big match that would've brought Moley up into a higher rank of Chess player, much like a points system used between competitive games today. Instead Moley lost a lot of points, and would have to wait before trying to take on the Chess King once again, so there was a lot riding on that one game. Once again, we didn't have time to explain all of this, so we had to portray the importance of it from Moley's reaction".'' Moley trusted Ah Pao, who said he was certain it was a winning move. *''"He wasn't angry about losing, so much that he was angry about Ah Pao lying. He is a man of truth, who hated cowards and liars (ha ha), so he'd hate me."'' At this point, we see more of Ah Pao's character. He tries to calm Moley down by saying he should just play again, obviously underestimating the importance of the match, but also we see Ah Pao's desperate attempt to get out of the situation. Ah Pao seems to refuse to take responsibility for Moley's loss. From this, we can see that Ah Pao not only had little respect for Moley's game, but also very little respect for Chess in general, believing it's something you can 'just play again', as if there was no pride on the line. Naturally, this enrages Moley. How can one have such disrespect? He tries once again to get Ah Pao to see the error of his ways, but once again it fails. Not only that, but we now see Ah Pao trying very hard to pass the blame away from himself. 'Didn't mean to', he says. At this point, Ah Pao isn't sorry that he ruined Moley's game. He's only sorry that he's now being blamed for it, and the sooner he can get out of the situation without taking responsibility, the better for him. Ah Pao attempts to get out of the situation by telling Moley that he's on his way to the Kung Fu School, he then promptly tries to walk away after giving such an excuse. So here we can see that Ah Pao is not one to take responsiblity in the things he does. *''"All Moley really wanted was an apology at that moment, which is something that carries across later as he makes Ah Pao apologise all the way to the school, in a way he got his apology, but sadly he had to fight it out of Ah Pao to get it."'' Moley vs Ah Pao Ah Pao, quick to escape from the situation, is stopped once again by Moley, telling him to wait. There's only one Kung Fu school in the Dragon Mountains, and Moley is the senior of that school. It was no second guess where Ah Pao was heading to. This provided an opportunity for Moley. At this point, we see that Moley, although still mad about the Chess incident, has dropped the subject, and is instead curious. Taking into account what he's seen of Ah Pao so far, he was less than impressed with his attitude. Needless to say, Ah Pao wasn't serious with his answer. "What, Curious?" He was trying to play with Moley. Even after all that had happened, he was still showing a clear lack of respect, and at this point it was far more obvious than it was before. His charade of carelessness and naivety had been pulled back somewhat. Then Ah Pao declared his school. Ah Pao said it. Cheng Hsing School. Moley couldn't believe it. Moley was essentially the second in command of the school, and now he was talking to the one who had mocked him, yet wanted to get into that very school! *''"Ah Pao's reaction to Moley, his mocking attitude was meant to reflect later on when Ah Pao makes fun of Chi Tzu Tien, before realising he's actually good. It's a lesson in not judging people before you get to know them. Although it's a lot less apparent at this early point in the story"'' Moley was curious, why was he going to the school? Was he honestly going to learn the discipline of Kung-Fu after the stunt he pulled? Moley had to ask again just to confirm such a fact. "Study!" Ah Pao's answer almost seemed genuine. If Ah Pao really did want to study Kung Fu at Cheng Hsing school, there was no way he could ever be accepted with his current attitude. All his actions up to now, whether malicious or merely uninformed, were the opposite of everything that the Cheng Hsing School stood for! Moley had to tell Ah Pao that this wouldn't do. No way would Ah Pao be accepted unless he changed his ways pretty quickly. Moley told Ah Pao that he wouldn't get accepted. Moley would know, being one of the main men in charge of accepting new students. He tells Ah Pao that he is the senior student, and that's why he wouldn't get accepted. It's here that Ah Pao had come to another crossroad in his life. He had approached the senior of Cheng Hsing School and was told he wasn't good enough. Clearly at this point, Ah Pao had to go and train not only his skills, but also his discipline and confidence. This was the first step of the rest of Ah Pao's life. Sadly instead, Ah Pao chooses not to believe his words at all. Ah Pao accuses him of lying, and begins to provoke him. "You instantly see here, Ah Pao doesn't trust Moley at all. This is a stark contrast to Moley, who trusted Ah Pao's words without even knowing who he was." Moley realises he has no choice at this point. Since his words proved no effect, he would have to instead show Ah Pao his skills, by showing him how well the Senior Student can fight. It's here that Ah Pao is taken for a ride.